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DETROIT— A man awaiting sentencing in an armed robbery was on the run Monday after stabbing a sheriff’s deputy several times in the neck, before stealing his uniform then carjacking a motorist in a daring escape from a downtown Detroit courthouse, authorities said.

The escape by Derreck White, 25, sparked a manhunt and prompted a lockdown of the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice.

White overpowered Deputy Harrison Tolliver as he was transporting White and two other prisoners into a holding cell, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said. White stabbed the deputy with a plastic comb that had been fashioned into a shank, Napoleon said.

“It was very quick,” Napoleon said. “He overcame the deputy, took his clothing, got on the elevator and escaped.”

Napoleon described the deputy’s injuries as “puncture wounds,” but said he is fine.

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White was scheduled to be in court Monday morning to learn his punishment after being convicted last month of carjacking, armed robbery and firearms charges, according to court records.

White’s defense attorney, James Howarth, said he has a history of mental illness but was found competent to stand trial. He said he believes White’s mental health issues may have played a role in his escape Monday.

“In his right mind he would not have done this,” Howarth said. “In the year I have known him, he has never showed the slightest symptom of being dangerous. Something is very wrong.”

Detroit police Chief James Craig said White stole a minivan from a motorist near the courthouse and later abandoned that vehicle on the city’s east side. Officers put the courthouse on lockdown, which delayed the day’s hearings, and searched the area near where the van was found.

White may have put on the sheriff’s department uniform during the escape, but Craig said it was believed the inmate no longer was wearing it.

The judge’s office where his case was listed said it had no information to release.

Associated Press writers Jeff Karoub and David Runk contributed to this report.

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